Commonwealth woman faces drug charges

September 26, 2013

FLORENCE, Wis. - A Commonwealth, Wis. woman accused in two separate complaints of possessing illegal drugs in her home and stealing packages from the Spread Eagle, Wis. area has been bound over on her felony drug charges.

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Nikki Younk/Daily News PhotoStephanie Schuls, left, appears in Florence County Court for a preliminary examination with her attorney Hank McRoberts. Schuls was bound over on felony drug charges.

Stephanie Schuls, 37, appeared in Florence County Court for a preliminary examination in the drug case.

Florence County Sheriff's Department Deputy Michael Short testified that last November, he executed a search warrant at Schuls' Commonwealth residence in order to look for a stolen check book.

While searching, Short discovered drug paraphernalia such as syringes, spoons with residue, and smoking devices. He sent these items to the state crime lab to determine if they contained any illegal substances.

Short said that he recently received the results, which showed that the items contained traces of oxycodone, amphetamine, and morphine.

Schuls' attorney Hank McRoberts questioned Short if he was sure that the items belonged to his client. He pointed out that Schuls was not present at the time of the search.

Judge Leon D. Stenz determined that there was probable cause to believe that Schuls committed the crimes. Probable cause does not indicate guilt.

As a result, Judge Stenz bound Schuls over to the circuit court level. An arraignment in the matter is scheduled for Oct. 1.

In the felony case, Schuls faces four felony counts of possession of narcotic drugs, one felony count of felon in possession of a firearm, two misdemeanor counts of receiving and concealing stolen property, five misdemeanor counts of possession of an illegally obtained prescription, and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

In an unrelated misdemeanor case, Schuls faces three misdemeanor counts of theft of movable property and two misdemeanor counts of receiving and concealing stolen property.

The charges stem from a July 31 incident in Spread Eagle.

According to the criminal complaint in the case, deputies from the Florence County Sheriff's Department and a postal inspector had heard several complaints about packages missing from the Spread Eagle Chain of Lakes area.

They decided to put out a bait package that contained a Walmart gift card.

A few days later, deputies saw that the card had been used at the Murphy gas station in Iron Mountain. Surveillance footage showed that Schuls was at the station at the time the card was used.

While questioning Schuls, deputies found that she gained access to mailboxes in the Spread Eagle area as she was delivering newspapers.